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Payment Methods on Forex – Which One is Better to Use

Posted on March 24, 2017August 25, 2017

Forex market cannot be imagined without money. First payments occur at the very beginning of trading because you need to replenish your trading account to open an order. After that, you will definitely need to withdraw your profit. You can make payments through a lot of methods. Let’s learn what payment methods to use and how not to lose much on commissions while depositing and withdrawing funds from trading accounts.

Bank transfer / Wire transfer payment method

Bank transfer, or wire transfer or simply wire, is a traditional payment method on the Forex market. It is a non-cash money transfer between a trader’s bank and a broker’s bank. Let’s see how the wire transfer is conducted.

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John decided to use Bank transfer for depositing his trading account. He goes to his bank and entrusts the bank to transfer a specific amount from his bank account to the bank account of the broker. The broker receives that money on his bank account and credits it to John’s trading account. Money transfer between two banks is executed through reliable computer system with encrypting all transaction details.

No one can transfer funds from John’s account except himself because banks require personality confirmation. All reports upon payments are stored in the bank. If a broker claims that money wasn’t credited John can require transactions reports and prove the money transfer.

But! Transactions between banks are usually processed from 2 to 7 bank days. John can’t wait for so long. Another disadvantage of this method is high commissions. They may reach 2-7% of transaction amount. Moreover, banks don’t deal with small sums.

Bank cards payment method

Bank card is an instrument which gives its holder the access to his bank account. Bank cards are used for non-cash payments offline and online. They can be credit or debit. If you hold a credit card you can go into overdraft. It means that you can use bank money when your own funds are over. Of course, you are supposed to return the whole sum plus some interest for usage later. If you hold debit cards you can spend only your own funds.

The most widespread cards are those supported by the International payment systems Visa and MasterCard.

Bank cards are extremely convenient if we talk about replenishment of the Forex accounts. You do not need to go to your bank, and the whole process is easier and faster in comparison with Wire. At the very beginning, you need to verify your card and bind it to your trading account. After that, every deposit is a question of several seconds.

For example, Ben uses his card everywhere – he pays for his purchases in offline and online stores, for the lunch in a cafe, for utility services. When he started Forex trading and opened live account, he bound his card to his trading account and now he can use it anytime to credit funds into trading account or to debit it from there.

Bank cards have the disadvantages as well. Firstly, you need to pay commissions to your bank for transactions processing. They are lower in comparison with Bank transfer but higher than electronic payment systems require. Secondly, banks and brokers set limitations on minimal and maximum transactions sums, amounts of transactions within a day etc. Thirdly, withdrawing funds via bank cards takes several days usually, it depends on your bank.

Prepaid cards payment method

Prepaid cards look like ordinary bank cards but they are not bound to any bank account. If you hold such a card, you credit funds directly to the card. The prepaid card can be issued not only by banks but by electronic payment systems also. Often they are issued in cooperation with brokers and give additional opportunities for traders.

Prepaid cards are debit ones, so you can use only your own money. You can use such a card for everyday payments as well as for depositing and withdrawing funds from your trading account.

E-wallets payment method

Electronic wallets are online accounts where people keep their money and can execute online payments. These are very popular payment methods among traders. Commissions on transactions set by e-wallets are low and many brokers pay those commissions instead of traders. As a rule, depositing and withdrawing via electronic purses are very fast, often even instantly. On average it takes up to 2 hours.

If you want to deposit account via e-wallet system you should open an electronic purse and credit money to it via convenient method (from a bank card, a terminal, a bank office, a mobile phone etc.). The most popular purses at the moment are:

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Payments agents

Payment agents are entities which accept payments from a variety of payment systems and then transfer funds to the accounts at forex brokers. They are also called exchangers because they exchange one e-currency for another. When you choose to execute payments via payment agent, you can deposit transfer funds from one e-wallet and withdraw it to another e-wallet.

Moreover, payment agents are very useful when you want to deposit your trading account but your broker does not accept payments from the payment system you have an account with. So the main advantage of using such a method is its universality.

But you should understand that the level of transactions security is lower than in the case with bank cards or well-known e-wallets. And as payment agent acts as a mediator the term of transaction processing becomes bigger.

What you need to pay attention to when choosing a payment method

There are plenty of payment methods on the market and brokers cooperate with many of them trying to make depositing of account easy and convenient for their clients. When you choose the payment method, look carefully for those details:

Commission

Consider the size of commission for money transfer and compare it with the sum of your deposit. Some payment systems apply set commission plus percent from the sum. For example $5+1%. So if you want to deposit $20, this commission is highly unprofitable for you. Often brokers pay commissions instead of you and it is additional reason to choose definite payment system.

Processing time

If you need to deposit your account fast, for example, to avoid stop out, you should choose payment system with automated instant transactions.

Transactions limits

Pay attention to the limits set by the payment system for minimum and maximum amount per transaction, and daily limit for all transactions.

Special terms

Read terms of payment carefully, both on the website of the payment agent and of the broker. They may have some special terms which will be uncomfortable for you.

Popularity in your country

There are international and local payment systems. If you choose local one you will get the support in your native language and convenient way to deposit your e-wallet.

Easy depositing and withdrawing

Make sure you will be able to deposit your e-wallet easily – from your bank card, or from the terminal in the next-door supermarket. The same with the cashing out.